Page 5 of Michael
Michael
Chief Nurse Millsis waiting by the ER’s reception. The second her light brown eyes find mine, she presses her tablet against her chest. Her lips remain shut tight, but her sole expression speaks volumes of her restlessness.
My brother’s brows shoot sky-high. “Well, this can’t be good,” Uriel mumbles, instants before we meet.
As we finally stop scarce feet away from her, my brother straightens his white coat. He slips his hands into his pockets and squares his shoulders, bracing himself for whatever Chief Nurse Mills has in store for us.
Infinite wariness contorts Uriel’s face, whereas I couldn’t be happier at the prospect of a challenge—it’s either tackling that or going mad wandering the empty halls of my mansion in Playa del Rey.
“What have we got?” I ask, peering into the Shock-Trauma room to my left. Funny. There’s nobody there. “Multiple fractures, blunt head trauma?”
“Mice,” someone says.
My head swings to the side just in time to catch the maintenance man as he walks by, mopping the hallway.
“Huh?” I frown, but the man keeps going, pushing the mop further along the corridor. He never looks back.
“Dr. Michael,” the Chief Nurse whispers, clinging to the tablet while tilting forward. “There’s aproblemin the lower ground.”
“Yeah. What is it?” an impatient Uriel asks.
The nurse looks over her shoulder, cautious not to be heard as a small group strolls past us. She waits until the crowd reaches the elevators, and adds, “I think there might be…a mousein the clinic. Probably more.”
“You—what?” Uriel flinches in sheer disbelief. “No, not here. Nuh-uh. Never!” My brother’s outburst invariably attracts all eyes—his one weakness, if I may address it. Uriellovesthe attention.
“Keep your voice down!” I’m all but hissing.
Unaffected, Chief Nurse Mills slowly flips the tablet in her hold, showing us the full-HD retina screen quality image of what appears to be scratching on a wall.
“Thatis your proof?” Uriel stammers.
I stare at him sideways. He sounds pretty defensive. Can’t figure out why.
The nurse swipes the screen, revealing the following picture. Judging by the considerable damage to the piping system, I don’t think mice are even remotely involved. We have a problem. And it’shuge.
My brother’s features harden as he examines the screen. Finally, he rubs an eye, and folding his arms over his chest, he turns to me to say, “Anything could have done that.”
Is he being serious? “There’s agnawed holein the wall,” I reply dryly. “Look at those pipes.”
“Shall I call the exterminator?” the nurse asks, shutting off her tablet.
“Absolutely not!” Uriel explodes. “Michael, if this gets out, they’ll shut us down for good! I’ve worked too hard to raise this clinic, only to throw it away on someone’shunch.” He throws a rabid glare at Chief Nurse Mills. He’s as rattled as I’ve ever seen him.
“Do it,” I tell her. “Make the call.”
The nurse knows my brother’s temper enough to let his angry words slip by. She starts to walk away when I add, “But May...” I bite my lower lip. “Let’s keep this under wraps.”
She nods and dips a hand into her scrub’s pocket, pulling out a slim cell phone. “I’ll be discrete,” she assures me. She then walks through the sliding doors and steps outside.
“What on earth happened to you right there?” I ask Uriel as soon as we’re left alone.
He furrows his brows and folds his arms against his chest in frustration. “How can you believe her?” Uri retorts. “Did we actuallyseea mouse in those pictures? Uh… No. We did not!”
Softly, I place a hand on my brother’s shoulder. That’s enough for the empath in me to sense his overflowing guilt. “This isn’t your fault,” I assure him, giving him a slight pat.
“How can it not be?” he mumbles, running a hand across his forehead. “I’m the one who hired the freaking maintenance team. This kind of thing never should have happened.”
“I’m a little heartbroken myself, to tell you the truth,” I admit as we saunter down the corridor.
